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Gerhard Claas, 59, A Leader of Baptists

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March 24, 1988, Page 00023 The New York Times Archives

The Rev. Gerhard Claas, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, has died of injuries suffered in a traffic accident near Lodi, Calif., the alliance announced Tuesday.

Mr. Claas, 59 years old, was chief administrative officer of the alliance, an international Baptist organization that has a membership of more than 35 million worldwide. The organization conducts teaching, development and disaster relief efforts in Third World nations.

Mr. Claas was traveling in California to a series of fund-raising meetings when the car in which he was riding collided Monday with a truck on a rural road in San Joaquin County near Lodi, 80 miles northeast of San Francisco.

Mr. Claas was a citizen of West Germany, where he had served in a number of pastoral and administrative posts. He is survived by his wife, the formed Irmgard Saffran, of McLean, Va., and three children, Regina, Gabriele Claas Gloeckner, and Martin, all of West Germany.

A version of this obituary appears in print on March 24, 1988, on Page D00023 of the National edition with the headline: Gerhard Claas, 59, A Leader of Baptists. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe